Mountjoy School bring another bunch students for a surfing session to The Wave again.

14th Oct 2024

This was the message from our contact, Kat at Mountjoy School...

Mountjoy school students got to experience The Wave again thanks to Phrenix and what an amazing day it was for everyone. Despite it being a bit chilly being mid-October everyone managed to get in the water and enjoy some surfing. The instructors were fantastic at supporting the group to take part no matter what their ability. For many of our students this will be a once in a lifetime experience and with The Wave and Phrenix supporting we had enough people in the water to make surfing a possibility for them. Some of our students shared "I was very determined to stand and I got really close" "It was amazing, I loved it so much" "I liked watching the waves" "It was really nice, thank you for letting us go". It was amazing for the Mountjoy staff to see the smiles, laughter and achievements that each student made some very proud moments!

Thank you so much again for funding it, it really was amazing for our guys, I think you can see from some of the photos just how much they loved it and how challenging it was for some of them but how accessible it was made for them.

Kat

If you like what we do and would like to donate or become a regular sponsor we would be very grateful. Please visit our Just giving page for details.

Keith, Lynn, Sophie and James.

Phrenix has done it again.

We have have now introduced 77 young students to surfing!!!!

Check out more of our photos here

10th Aug 2024

We are very super grateful to Harry Gutteridge, Ross Harrison and Brian Kearns who ran the Tough Mudder 15K in Gloucester in support of Phrenix in 2hrs 30 mins. Harry and his wife Katie both knew Josh from school and his business. These guys have raised in excess on a thousand pound so far which is fantastic as it will enable us to finance at least two or more visits to The Wave for at least another 32 youngsters from SEN schools.

Their donations are still rolling in. If you would like to read a bit about this team and why the decided to run in support of our charity check out their page here, it is very moving>>>

https://www.justgiving.com/page/tough-mudder-phrenix?utm_medium=fundraising&utm_content=page%2Ftough-mudder-phrenix&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=pfp-share&fbclid=IwY2xjawEmzspleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHW2KJZmX2Z4bCy1rZuOX_eq7Pk_6DiMaZFzN4jX4toY6uU-BGozMbdtt4g_aem_ynCg9cFs5YPe4xgJy5Xd9w#supportersList

If you like what we do and would like to donate or become a sponsored fund raiser please visit our Just giving page for details.

Keith, Lynn, Sophie and James.

Phrenix have now introduced 61 young students to surfing!!!!

Check out more of our photos here

Yewstock School bring another 13 students for a surfing session to The Wave again.

27th May 2024

Today's visit to The Wave was combined with a visit by Phil Williams from Christian Surfers UK and Stuart Mathews, one of our charity ambassadors, both of whom are members of an elite group of surfers called The Muddy Brothers. The Muddy Brothers surf the Severn Bore summer and winter whenever it occurs. Last year at their Christmas bash they had chosen to support our charity in Josh's name and raised over a thousand pounds which will enable us to help fund at least another fifty young people to have an incredible, safe experience surfing at The Wave. Stuart said that what Phrenix are doing is a wonderful legacy to Josh.

Josh knew many of The Muddy Brothers through his work and would have been stoked to think that they have raised a huge sum in his name, thanks again for your generocity.

Fom left to right, Phil Williams, Lynn, Keith, Stuart Mathews, James and Sophie receiving their donation cheque from The Muddy Brothers.

We also met with the Operations director, Andy Coachafer and David Chandler at The Wave to discuss future sessions for disadvantaged children having an introduction to this fantastic sport.

If you like what we do and would like to donate or become a regular sponsor we would be very grateful. Please visit our Just giving page for details.

Keith, Lynn, Sophie and James.

Phrenix have now introduced 61 young students to surfing!!!!

Check out more of our photos here

Yewstock School hit the Wave again with another sixteen students

On 26th June we were able to facilitate another lucky sixteen students from Yewstock SEN community school to visit The Wave in Bristol again for some surfing lessons and fun in the water.

One to One assistance in the water was provided by the very experienced staff at The Wave and staff from Yewstock School after a dry land briefing.

Mr Jules Daulby (Assistant Headmaster) said of the day...

“The Wave experience was amazing. Every pupil got something out of the trip and loved it! Some highlights were seeing one of our pupils who uses a wheelchair surfing the waves - his face was an absolute picture and he said to me 'I'm not sure if I'll ever be able to top that.' I feel this is a challenge now - do you know any skydivers?! Another pupil at first wasn't going to come, then she wasn't going to put on the wetsuit when we arrived. By the end she was grinning and laughing and asking if she could come again. This was a huge result for us as she is nervous and often struggles to cope with situations. The staff were brilliant. They were very comfortable with our pupils but challenged them to get out on their surf boards. It really was a magical experience to see our pupils surfing and laughing together. Thank you.”

None of this would have been possible without your generous donations and the help of staff at the schools and of course the team at The Wave. Thankyou everyone, we will be doing this again soon.

If you like what we do and would like to donate or become a regular sponsor we would be very grateful. Please visit our Just giving page for details.

Keith, Lynn, Sophie and James.

What a day!!!

Check out more of our photos here

23rd May and we hit The Wave again with Mountjoy School

On 23rd May, Lynn and I visited The Wave in Bristol again, this time with thirteen students and five carers from Mountjoy school in Dorset. a community school for children with profound and multiple (PMLD), Severe (SLD), Moderate (MLD) or complex learning difficulties.

Most of the children needed one to one assistance in the water after a dry land briefing. This was provided in the safest of environments by the very experienced staff at The Wave and five carers from Mountjoy School. Some of the students were a little nervous at start but soon got used to the waves and the inevitable wipeouts. Several managed to kneel up on their boards and one young lady managed to stand. My favourite picture though is of a young lad lying out flat on his surfboard with the biggest smile on his face whist riding a wave. Brilliant.

The benefits are clear to see in the photos, everyone smiling and laughing and that includes the instructors and carers.

None of this would have been possible without your generous donations and the help of staff at the schools and of course the team at The Wave. Thankyou everyone, we will be doing this again soon.

If you like what we do and would like to donate or become a regular sponsor we would be very grateful. Please visit our Just giving page for details.

Keith, Lynn, Sophie and James.

All smiles, a brilliant day for everyone.

Check out more of our photos of the day

31st October marks the first anniversary of Phrenix and Josh's birthday

It's been quite the year for Phrenix as we've started our journey in looking to support young people through sport. We would like to think that Josh would be proud of what we've achieved as a charity, in particular being able to support 16 youngsters from Yewstock SEN in visiting The Wave in Bristol for a surfing lesson. We are also absolutely delighted to announce that the wonderful people at The Wave generously offered to provide another experience for a further 16 students at the school free of the charge. That's 32 students in total who will have the opportunity to experience something that will go a huge way to supporting their physical and mental wellbeing.

This has only been achieved as a result of the incredible generosity of everyone who has supported the charity over the 12 months, so thank you. Given the success of these events so far, the surfing experiences are something that we're looking to continue to support, alongside our wider goal of providing sporting opportunities for those that need it. As a result, we will be looking to do the same again for a further 16 students at the school, whilst also being able to offer the same opportunity to the students at Mountjoy SEN School which means that, over the course of the two years, we will have potentially offered 64 young people the chance to get wet and experience surfing.

So, today on our 1st year's anniversary and Josh's birthday we are starting a Justgiving Birthday fundraising campaign to enable us to continue to support our charitable objectives.

We understand that the current cost of living crisis presents its challenges for so many, so if you are able to help, no matter how small with a donation, we promise that every penny will go towards helping youngsters try a sport that they would not otherwise be able to do.

Thanks for all your support this past year, you have been fantastic and we could not have done this without each and every one of you.

Keith, Lynn, James and Sophia.

Surf's up! Yewstock School's visit to The Wave, supported by Phrenix!

On 8th June, Phrenix were able to provide support that enabled Yewstock School and College to attend a session at 'The Wave' in Bristol.

Yewstock School is a community school based in Dorset for children with profound and multiple (PMLD), Severe (SLD), Moderate (MLD) or complex learning difficulties. Using funding provided by Phrenix, the school was able to take 16 of its students to The Wave, an inland surf destination near Bristol, for a lesson in surfing!

And what a time they had! Most of the children who attended the session had never had the opportunity to experience a water sport before, let alone surfing, so was an occasion for them all. The staff at The Wave were fantastic with at least four instructors in the water at any time, which followed their initial dry land briefing. Each child received one to one help in catching some waves in the safest of environments, facilitated by the staff in attendance. It was incredible to see the confidence of the children build as the session progressed, with some of the students initially reluctant to enter the water. However, thanks to the incredible encouragement and support from their schoolteachers, staff at The Wave, and from each other, everyone eventually made it into the water for some fun. By the end of the session, some students were standing on a board 'riding' a wave for the very first time, what an amazing experience!

The headmaster quoted…” we were very pleased to be able to support the important work of Phrenix who do so much to help others achieve good mental health. ” -

Check out some photos from the day below and you will see from their smiling faces and laughter just what an impact the experience made!

This quite simply would not have been possible had it not been through all your donations provided to Phrenix and for that we are hugely grateful. If you think we are doing the right thing and would like to help our charity with a donation, no matter how small, we would be immensely grateful. If you would like to go further and become a regular sponsor, please visit our Just Giving page (if you're having trouble, please contact us). If you're thinking of undertaking your own sponsored challenge and would like to raise funds for the Charity then we would love to hear from you! We'll supply the T shirts and do all we can to help and raise your profile both on our website and our Facebook page!

James runs a Half Marathon...carrying a surfboard!

On Sunday 27th March 2022, our Trustee James ran the Weston Half Marathon carrying a surfboard in memory of Josh!

In our first fundraising event since starting the charity, James decided to strap on his trainers and run the Weston Super Mare Half Marathon. In recognition of the huge impact Josh had on the South West surfing community, James decided that he would run it carrying at 5ft 4in surfboard in his memory.

In training for the event, James undertook a number of training runs wearing the surfboard, which included appearances at a number of Parkruns in the South taking in Marine Parade (Weston Super Mare), Burnham and HIghbridge, Sharpham Fields (Cheddar) and Longrun Meadow (Taunton), which also got some local press!

https://www.burnham-on-sea.com/news/fundraiser-runs-burnham-parkrun-with-surfboard-in-memory-of-man/

As for the event itself, the conditions were certainly favourable (there wasn’t too much wind, albeit it was warmer than James had expected) and he managed to get round the course in 1:45:52! The support from fellow runners, course marshals and those watching (including Phrenix Trustees) was incredible!

We’d set out to raise £500 through the run with an additional £250 being provided as a Community Giving Donation from James' employer. With Gift Aid we’re now up to a remarkable £2,577 which is genuinely beyond our wildest dream and we would like to thank everyone who has supported the the run and the charity.. It will go a huge way to helping in our objective of improving the mental wellbeing of Children through sport.

If anyone is interested in learning more about Phrenix and how to support it, then please do let us know.

Mountjoy School bring another bunch students for a surfing session to The Wave again.

Yewstock School bring another 13 students for a surfing session to The Wave again.

Yewstock School hit the Wave again with another sixteen students

23rd May and we hit The Wave again with Mountjoy School

31st October marks the first anniversary of Phrenix and Josh's birthday

Surf's up! Yewstock School's visit to The Wave, supported by Phrenix!

James runs a Half Marathon...carrying a surfboard!

This website uses cookies.